Brow Lifts – Endoscopic Brow Lift and Eyebrow Lift

Temporal Lift

This is actually the upper half of a cosmetic facelift. The incision is not continued round the ear, however it does go up high into the temporal scalp. It can be used for the successful removal of crow’s feet creases from the sides of the eyes as well as lifting the upper regions of the cheeks and the outer areas of the eye brows. It is often carried out on fairly young patients that do not have any issues with the skin on their neck. It is a surgical procedure that is quite often combined with the elimination of eye-bags.

Brow Lifts

The aims of brow lifts procedures are to stretch out and reduce the vertical frown lines that appear inbetween the eyebrows, in addition to reducing the horizontal lines on the forehead. Furthermore they will raise the eye brows to a more vibrant position should they have drooped. This will present an appearance of the eyes being wide open -  a typically youthful feature.

This procedure can be combined with other cosmetic surgery of the face and it is sometimes performed in conjunction with upper eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty), and the combination of the two can often provide a better outcome than either operation if performed on their own. The results of brow lifts procedures can last for quite some time, years in fact. Generally two kinds of brow lifts procedures are performed regularly: the endoscopic brow lift or the traditional brow lift.

Endoscopic Brow Lift

The latest technological developments have presented the miracles of ‘keyhole surgery’. This ground-breaking type of surgical treatment makes use of an endoscope to carry out its numerous functions.

An endoscope consists of a minute camera which has a bright light installed on the end of a long tube (the tube is the endoscope itself), which in turn is actually connected with a fibre optic cable to a tv screen. The magnified picture of exactly what the camera is directed at is shown on the screen. Utilizing specially created instruments, that are inserted via tiny incisions, the surgeon is capable of doing a wide range of surgical treatments that are monitored on the tv screen, similar to a video game.

Endoscopic surgery is gaining widespread popularity in several surgical specialties, which includes cosmetic surgery where it really is mainly employed for brow as well as facial rejuvenation in specific cases. In functional terms, the endoscope has been discovered to be beneficial in the tightening up of areas of the face in relatively youthful patients, specially the brow and temple.

This technique of the endoscopic brow lift demands appropriate patient selection in addition to a lot of expertise and knowledge on the part of the doctor in order to achieve systematically good results.

Endoscopic Brow Lift - The Operation

The operation is usually carried out under general anaesthetic or sedation, and a local anaesthetic will be injected directly into the area of the skin that is to be undermined. In general five very small incisions tend to be made.

Specifically designed devices are passed by means of these incisions, to lift the scalp away from the skull, cutting as well as weakening the right muscles to lessen the frown lines and ultimately fix the lifted scalp to its fresh site. The endoscope is furthermore passed via one of these incisions, allowing the surgeon to view what he’s doing.

The degree of lift is managed by suspending the scalp on sutures that go through the tissue near the eye brows and are after that fastened further back onto the bone of the skull, possibly by drilling little openings in the bone or by screwing in specialised fixing devices.

No skin is taken away with this method.

Endoscopic Brow Lift Postoperative Events:

Precisely the same sequelae that happen after conventional browlift surgery (see below) can occur following endoscopic browlift surgery, with the exception that the little scars tend not to stretch.

Endoscopic Brow Lift Results

Due to the fact endoscopic surgical treatment involves significantly less invasive surgical treatment than the conventional brow lift (see below), there’s less disruption to the tissues of the face coupled with a more rapid recuperation from the surgical treatment. The lengthier and more apparent scars of the conventional brow lift can also be avoided. Nevertheless, the technique is much more suited to younger individuals where there is much less need to cut away a lot of skin.

Additionally, the permanence of the browlift might be more restricted. Its greatest benefit is in those individuals (usually male patients) who may have a somewhat receding hairline, where the scar of the conventional or open brow lift might show, as well as where the restricted final result and less permanent results are a trade-off, worthy of hidden scarring.

Traditional Eyebrow Lift - The Operation

This procedure is usually performed with a general or twilight anaesthetic, followed by a local anaesthetic and adrenaline solution, as with cosmetic facelift surgery. The incision runs along the top of the head, from ear to ear within the hairline. The scalp is lifted away (undermined) from the cut line towards the eyebrows and bridge of the nose. The actual muscles which cause the frown lines to develop are made weaker with accurately positioned incisions and frequently some muscle mass is removed at the same time. The scalp is stretched backwards to create the lift, and the excess scalp skin is cut away. The incision is then secured with sutures and is concealed because it is well into the hairline.

Another, rather uncommon technique for performing a brow lift, which is beneficial in some cases, is a procedure where the cut is made just in front of the hairline, but all the way along the forehead. The forehead is undermined and the muscle tissue weakened as normal to eradicate the frown lines. The forehead skin is then repositioned upwards and the excess skin is removed. The open area made by the incision is then very carefully sutured.

The benefit of this technique is the fact that there is actually no backwards migration of the hairline. However, the drawback is that you will be able to see, in most cases, an obvious scar just in front of the hair. This method could be extended even further, in that if the top of the head is lifted (undermined), the hairline can then be brought down and forwards, thus reducing a high forehead. The scar tissue can be concealed with the use of permanent make-up tattoo, or even by hair transplants from the back of the head, directly into the scar. On the whole this technique is really only effective in those individuals who brush their hair forwards.

Eyebrow Lift Postoperative Events:

Numbness and tingling

This almost always occurs towards the top of the head and may last for many weeks.

Hair loss

This will happen around the cut and may end up being permanent.

Scar

The scar may stretch and need a modification procedure at a later stage. Since the scar is actually entirely concealed in the hair, in most cases it may only end up being found in the event that it is actually looked for.

Asymmetry

Assymetry can take place, leading to one side of the face becoming higher than the other. A modification procedure might then be required.

Movement

Immediately following the actual operation, there will be limited movement of the muscles in the forehead, but regular movement generally returns inside a few weeks.